Discuss lifestyle changes to better survive disasters. This category is for topics pertaining to being self reliant such as DIY, farming, alternative energy, autonomous solutions to water collection and waste removal, etc.

My only internet at home in Whatcom County is through mobile devices and I've been quite happy with it for a few years. I might feel different if I was into video games. For research, email, and Netflix, Sprint has held up just fine for me. What does bug me is sometimes the tablet is not user friendly for some websites and research, and I need to take my laptop somewhere with WiFi. Didn't bug me as much when my favorite pub was 2 blocks down the street, but it closed and now it's a little more annoying.

"Seriously the most dangerous thing you are likely to do is to put salt on a Big Mac right before you eat it and to climb into your car."
--Raptor

We started with a mobile device and as soon as it became available switched to wired access.

It was like night and day.

We still can't get a nice T drop like we had in Savannah but the speeds are quadruple and there is no GB limit. We would not have been able to fire the satellite company and gone streaming without it, without giving up the kids shows.

Also it has been remarkably durable. Other than me taking out the buried line (I thought it was on the pole I swear) when planting fruits trees a couple of years ago there have been no issues. The Mobile device needed a hot reset near daily.

From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother

RoneKiln wrote:My only internet at home in Whatcom County is through mobile devices and I've been quite happy with it for a few years. I might feel different if I was into video games. For research, email, and Netflix, Sprint has held up just fine for me. What does bug me is sometimes the tablet is not user friendly for some websites and research, and I need to take my laptop somewhere with WiFi. Didn't bug me as much when my favorite pub was 2 blocks down the street, but it closed and now it's a little more annoying.

No gig limit?? Interesting, I believe the century internet is pretty fast. But I do gaming and lots of movies, so the wireless may or may not be that great. The other thing is if I work from home I'll be using it nearly nonstop 10 hours a day 4 days a week. So something I'll have to look into as well.

On a different front. I found a small (very small) mini excavator for next to nothing, starts, runs, pushes, and has a thumb on it. It's been sitting on this lot that used to sell equipiment exclusively for years, but they are switching over to cars because the area they are in it doesn't make sense (I don't know how they stayed in business this long in a suburban area selling small heavy equipment).

Next thing for temp housing I will have to check local laws and stuff of course. Going to home depot to check prices for things I stopped (with the gf) to look at the prebuilt sheds they had there. These are reconstructed tiny homes.... We've talked with the grandparents and they are (surprisingly) ok with us clearing and plopping down a small house. Power isn't an issue grandpa planned ahead and has a breaker box that was going to be used for another workshop installed so I can run power from that to the tiny house. Water is another thing grandpa planned ahead for. there's a split both at the pump AND at the tank that can be hooked up. At the pump I'd have to get a tank to hold the water but either way not a big deal. The biggest issue would be sewage. I'd have to get a septic system put in or make an outhouse. Septic would be ideal but there are permits I have to go through and the less redtape and BS I have to deal with the better.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

RoneKiln wrote:My only internet at home in Whatcom County is through mobile devices and I've been quite happy with it for a few years. I might feel different if I was into video games. For research, email, and Netflix, Sprint has held up just fine for me. What does bug me is sometimes the tablet is not user friendly for some websites and research, and I need to take my laptop somewhere with WiFi. Didn't bug me as much when my favorite pub was 2 blocks down the street, but it closed and now it's a little more annoying.

No gig limit?? Interesting, I believe the century internet is pretty fast. But I do gaming and lots of movies, so the wireless may or may not be that great. The other thing is if I work from home I'll be using it nearly nonstop 10 hours a day 4 days a week. So something I'll have to look into as well.

Whether mobile data will work for you in the country is difficult to determine. Where we are, only Verizon or ATT work for data and we tried lots of companies to make sure. Sometimes, even those don't work in the house. We sometimes have to go outside for phone calls. If the data does work in your house, you can probably stream on certain services (the ones that tend to buffer well) but you won't be able to play real-time games or MMORPGs effectively. Most of the companies that tend to work out in the country tend to have usage caps and "unlimited" plans often put the brakes on your speeds after a certain amount of usage. That's a problem for heavy usage like streaming and gaming.

One option is dish providers like Hughsnet and Wild Blue, but they are similarly problematic for streaming and gaming. The problem is the latency. Streaming services that buffer well will probably work, but you can't video chat or play real-time games at all. They also have usage caps, though they tend to be higher than mobile data plans, but they also slow speeds after a certain amount of usage on unlimited plans. We had better luck with dish than mobile data, but neither was ideal for us as streamers and gamers.

Ultimately, we got lucky and our county put up their own microwave tower broadband service. It's very lacking compared to your typical cable internet, but it is worlds better than mobile data or dish services. We can play some real-time games, stream vids even from services that don't buffer well, and even video chat. Our service is unlimited with no slowing of our speeds, but our speeds are only 3mps to begin with. Around here, that's pretty darn impressive. Anywhere near civilization, that's garbage. That's the price of living away from civilization.

Internet isn't really a worry. As I said currently there's Century Link, it's not quite as fast as Cable internet but it works. The property is only about 5 miles from town however it is off the beaten path. You have to turn down a poorly marked dirt road and follow it for about a mile or so. I'd prefer cable because it is so much faster, however I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.

In other news:
I spent 2 days in pouring down rain clearing ivy off trees. Grandpa loves his ivy, the problem is it's been going crazy for the last 5 years and is high up a bunch of trees. Some of it so thick I had to chainsaw it.... I've never seen ivy 2" thick or more before. Still a lot more to do. But the major problem areas are cleared. I think next I'll try removing it. Might have to do something drastic to kill it off. Thinking lye on the leaves and letting it burn through a bit of it.

Next week I'll be removing the genny putting in a new one then taking the old one apart (think the gas and oil is bad) and trying to get it back up and running as back up or so mom can have a larger one.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

Well, I think the time line for EVERYTHING just advanced a LOT. Grandparents got back from Mexico last night and called me earlier and said they are going to be looking for a place soon, as in, start looking tomorrow. Honestly wasn't ready, there's a lot of stuff I wanted to do BEFORE, moving in. Was really hoping to have a tiny house on site this summer. Something I could live in while remodeling and clearing the land of the blackberry and ivy infestation.

Going up tomorrow with Mom to talk and see what the plan is. Will have more info tomorrow.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

Halfapint wrote:Well, I think the time line for EVERYTHING just advanced a LOT. Grandparents got back from Mexico last night and called me earlier and said they are going to be looking for a place soon, as in, start looking tomorrow. Honestly wasn't ready, there's a lot of stuff I wanted to do BEFORE, moving in. Was really hoping to have a tiny house on site this summer. Something I could live in while remodeling and clearing the land of the blackberry and ivy infestation.

Going up tomorrow with Mom to talk and see what the plan is. Will have more info tomorrow.

Good luck.

John E
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life:The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

First went with the grandparents to a family law lawyer (actually a good friend of mine so friends/family discount!). So the property should be mine here shortly (once they actually decide what they are going to do.

I finally got done going through the property and knocked back all of the ivy. Grandpa loves ivy because "it's always green" and was under the assumption that even though all the trees that have fallen on the property were strangled to death by giant vines of ivy, "it doesn't hurt anything". I had to hack through about 4-5" trunks of ivy. Finished up most of that the other day.

Next up will be trying to fine a good cedar tree to fell. One of the posts that holds up the deck is 12'x8" cedar. Unfortunately one of the spouts that drains the roof water splashes next to it. and it's starting to rot at the base. I'll get it stripped down and let is dry outside (under cover) for a year or so before replacing it. I've also wanted to make cedar singles for shits and giggles so that might be on the list to do when I find an appropriate tree.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

I've been seeing a lot of large RVs for sale at real affordable prices. You might be able to get one before the seasonal price increase in decent shape that with cleanup and a few minor repairs could then be sold at a profit when you're done remodeling the house. I know it's not as nice as a tiny house, but it's faster, cheaper, and possibly profitable. I nearly doubled my money on an RV doing something similar several years ago. Bought it for 3200, lived in it 18 months, then sold it to the lowest bidder for 5600 (I had good cause to want the low bidder to get it).

"Seriously the most dangerous thing you are likely to do is to put salt on a Big Mac right before you eat it and to climb into your car."
--Raptor

RoneKiln wrote:I've been seeing a lot of large RVs for sale at real affordable prices. You might be able to get one before the seasonal price increase in decent shape that with cleanup and a few minor repairs could then be sold at a profit when you're done remodeling the house. I know it's not as nice as a tiny house, but it's faster, cheaper, and possibly profitable. I nearly doubled my money on an RV doing something similar several years ago. Bought it for 3200, lived in it 18 months, then sold it to the lowest bidder for 5600 (I had good cause to want the low bidder to get it).

That’s something I’ve been looking at but around here (lots of constant rain) most RVs don’t last long under those conditions. Everything here (used) gets rotten. We looked at a Reflection 295rl we have a really good price on it. But we dunno. Still thinking.

Great thought though.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

Legalities are all square the trust has everything in it so it's all set for that.

Starting as soon as the wet season turns to the less wet but still damp season, I'm going to be cutting about 2 dozen trees down. We'll be hiring a bulldozer and excavator to clear 2000-4000sq/ft of land, leveling it, as well as building a retaining wall to keep the dirt back. This will be the parking area for the trailer as well as another small out building for storage which may end up being converted to a shop or mother-in-law. We looked at hooking the trailer to the septic and it isn't a problem so we'll just have to figure out the best route to run the pipe.

Hopefully if all goes to plan we can have this done by the end of the summer and be on the property in Sept or so. By then I should also be able to work form home so that will lessen the burden of having to commute.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

Legalities are all square the trust has everything in it so it's all set for that.

Starting as soon as the wet season turns to the less wet but still damp season, I'm going to be cutting about 2 dozen trees down. We'll be hiring a bulldozer and excavator to clear 2000-4000sq/ft of land, leveling it, as well as building a retaining wall to keep the dirt back. This will be the parking area for the trailer as well as another small out building for storage which may end up being converted to a shop or mother-in-law. We looked at hooking the trailer to the septic and it isn't a problem so we'll just have to figure out the best route to run the pipe.

Hopefully if all goes to plan we can have this done by the end of the summer and be on the property in Sept or so. By then I should also be able to work form home so that will lessen the burden of having to commute.

Right? we'll be cutting back maybe up to 40' and perhaps 60-70' feet too meet with the drive way down to the property. I haven't measured it but I'm pretty good at guessing distances. so that 2800sq/ft or so of cleared flat land. that'll make a huge difference.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

A suggestion on RV/trailers look over on the East side of the Cascades and you can find them without rot. Then you can either build a structure over it it keep it dry or if you need more instant you can get an RV carport.

I have a 36' RV carport over my trailer. Though I did the dumb thing and bought my used trailer from the West side and found out I got ripped off. It had covered over water damage.

"Once a man has seen society's black underbelly, he can never turn his back on it. Never pretend, like you do, that it doesn't exist"

"None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with ME!"

A suggestion on RV/trailers look over on the East side of the Cascades and you can find them without rot. Then you can either build a structure over it it keep it dry or if you need more instant you can get an RV carport.

I have a 36' RV carport over my trailer. Though I did the dumb thing and bought my used trailer from the West side and found out I got ripped off. It had covered over water damage.

We looked at used, none of them are at a price point that's worth it for us. We found some decent ones but if I'm going to spend the amount of money they are asking I can spend a few more, take the debt hit and buy something brand new with warranty. We are lucky in our situation as this will be the only thing we are having to actually "pay" for. We aren't going to have a mortgage, and projects will be done as we have funds. We are planning on buying more land on your side of the state and parking it there under cover as a temp shelter after we move into the house. So having it and knowing the history is worth the monthly payments for us.

I priced out the cost of concrete for a footing for the cover. I'm looking at 14.2 yards of concrete. But the plus side is once the RV is moved to another property or we sell it, we can then convert the footing to a permanent structure.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

I had the last 2 weeks off, most of it was spent on the property. We found a much better area for the trailer. Less heavy equipment needing to be used, a straighter shot for the septic, and water is already there. It's also a lot easier to get the trailer in and out as it'll just be a pull through right off the road.

Got a new chainsaw as well! I've been contemplating getting a much bigger saw and finally bit and got it. Stihl 661 C-M it's got the PNW package on it which has the wrap around handle, and they actually bore it out so it's even more powerful. This thing sounds like a two stroke dirt bike it's amazing I got the 36" bar on it, I'm getting a 28" and I threw one of my extra 20" bars on it. I cant believe how easily this thing rips through trees!

I posted a separate thread about mini excavators well I've given up on that idea. Actually Ineffableone talked me out of it. Instead I looked at a John Deere 1025R. It's a light duty tractor with a backhoe. I may try and see if I can find a Kubota or Yanmar for cheaper. I dont need to pay for the name. but that should be able to handle all the work we need and I can come up with a lot more projects for it that I haven't even thought of yet. I think I'd get a post hole digger as well as I want to put a fence in by the road and it's lined with trees so the post hole digger would make quick work of the roots there.

Other than that, lots of work was done. Cleared out the wood shed, have plans to build a second one. Finally got the big dead maple down that I've been working on for a year. Cleared the garage shelves and organized. Hacked back more ivy off trees and trimmed some trees for better visibility.

Last thing, I got the old farm truck up and running as well. It's an 86 or 87 Ford F150 with the straight 6 in it. It's been upgraded with the 3/4 ton frame/suspention, dual gas tanks, its got the 4 speed manual along with 4x4 with suuuuuuper granny gear. Got new knobby tires on the back and this thing just LOVES to work. I loaded the entire bed up with wood and drove it about 20 miles to my moms house. It's slow up hills but I'm thoroughly impressed with how well this thing works. I had planned on replacing it but not anymore. This ol thing is getting rebuilt this winter, I've already looked up minor modifications to get it so that it doesn't bog down going up hills with a big load.

JeeperCreeper wrote:I like huge dicks, Halfapint, so you are OK in my book.... hahaha

Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...